Athletics Approves Reforms - On the Scene

(ATR) Mired in doping and corruption scandals, track and field’s governing body took a huge step by resoundingly approving a reform package.

The vote was 182-10 at a Special Congress in Monaco.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe called it a "good and historic day for our sport" while praising the IAAF’s more than 200 members for their overwhelming support. Coe’s reforms package was detailed in a 27-page guide titled "Time for Change."

"I knew we had to do something, I knew we had to change," Coe told reporters at a news conference at the Fairmont Monte Carlo. "Our destiny was in our hands. We have to show the world that were very serious about this and that’s why I’m extremely proud today.

"This work started effectively shortly after Christmas – it has been painstaking, it has been detailed and it has involved consistently flying around the world for the past six or seven months."

"A number of delegates said we simply cannot return to where we’ve come from," Coe said.

Despite a Rio 2016 Olympics with notable results, The image of the IAAF has been severely tarnished over the past year. The Russian doping scandal led to the suspension of the country’s athletes from the Rio Olympics. Related to the Russian scandal, former president Lamine Diack is currently facing criminal charges in France.

Bulgarian Athletics Federation president Dobromir Karamarinov tweeted: "Very proud to see our sport embrace change and support the reform of IAAF. Now a new chapter and bright future."

Considering the alleged state-sponsored Russian doping scandal that has rocked the sport, perhaps the most significant reform approved involves the implementation of an independent integrity unit to handle anti-doping issues and provide disciplinary functions. Coe noted that the budget to fight doping has been doubled to a budget of eight million dollars.

"We’ll do everything we can to create an even playing field so they (athletes) can compete clean against one another," said the IAAF chief.

Additional reforms include granting a greater voice for athletes, a more equal gender balance in the IAAF governance structure and redefined roles and responsibilities of Council and Executive Board, including granting less authority from the president, while empowering member federations. The athletics boss also emphasized greater transparency moving forward.

"We can never ever have a system that one person has so much unchecked, unbalanced power," Coe said, obviously referencing the disgraced former IAAF president.

Asked by Around the Rings of the significance of giving its athletes a stronger voice,Coe offered a passioned response.

"I want all athletes to have a voice even though they can’t all sit on the Council," Coe said. "We need to understand a great deal more about the landscape that they are living in, particularly regarding to anti-doping. We need to everything we possibly can to root out the cheats."

"I started out as one of the first chairs of the athletes commission back in 1981, so it’s a concept I’m quite wedded too," said the former two-time 1500m Olympic gold medalist.

Coe noted that a second athlete, a female for an equal gender balance, will be added as a member of the Council.

Only the gender equality reform was slightly modified on Saturday. Initially, Coe proposed a 50-50 male and female split among Council representation by 2023. Member federations agreed to a slightly less aggressive timeframe of 40 percent female representationby 2023, with the ambition of an equal balance over the years following.

Coe noted that there were 42 or 43 interventions occurred during Saturday’s proceedings. Jamaica, Ukraine, Senegal and Oman abstained in the vote.

Athletics Federation chairperson Maria Clarke summed up what was a monumental day for both the sport and federation.

"This will take us forward and beyond in a way we can continue to grow as a sport," she said.

"We’re in much better shape this afternoon, then we were this morning," Coe said.

ASICS Onboard as New Sponsor

Athletics Federation chief executive officer Olivier Gers revealed that the governing body has entered into a new three-year partnership with Japanese running gear and sports apparel company ASICS.

Gers says that the partnership begins on January 1. ASICS will be prominently featured at the next two IAAF world championships in London in 2017 and Doha, Qatar 2019, in addition to the World Athletics Series.

"Asics will become a new and the latest edition to the program of our official partners," Gers said. "We look forward to a very long and fruitful relationship."

Bolt and Ayana Win Athletes of the Year Awards

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana have been named the male and female World Athletes of the Year at the IAAF Athletics Awards held Friday night at the Sporting Monte Carlo.

Bolt, who sprinted to three more gold medals in Rio 2016 to increase his Olympic medal tally to nine, won the honor for an unprecedented sixth time.

Ayana broke the world record and won Olympic gold in the 10,000m race in Rio clocking 29:17.45. She also won bronze in the 5,000m.

She is the third Ethiopian women to win the honor following Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 and Meseret Defar in 2007.

Reported in Monaco byBrian Pinelli .